# data[].attributes.body
"I set myself forthwith, and with entire deliberation, to the task of concealing the body."

"I determined to wall it up in the cellar"

He walls up the corpse of his wife but also accidentally buries the second black cat in the wall along with his wife

Putting up a wall or burying: to separate yourself from a traumatic or guilt-inducing event -> He is trying to repress and bury the guilt he feels for murdering his first cat and then his wife

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There is a second cat after his first cat, Pluto.

"It was a black cat—a very large one—fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every respect but one."

"but this cat had a large, although indefinite splotch of white, covering nearly the whole region of the breast"

The second cat is his guilt, he does not name it and grows increasingly angry at its presence but it follows him everywhere regardless

The white splotch is revealed to be in the shape of the gallows, representative of how he killed Pluto by hanging it by its neck

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"cut one of its eyes from the socket!"

"it also had been deprived of one of its eyes."

"a fury to which I now blindly abandoned myself"

can't see anymore b/c of his rage/ has more knowledge because of the crimes he's done

One eye - All-Seeing Eye/Eye of Providence, symbolic of knowledge, a God that sees/knows all

cat with one eye has knowledge

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The man's first cat he got and named after he was married.

"Pluto—this was the cat’s name—was my favorite pet and playmate."

Black cats are usually seen as bad luck, but the name Pluto means "wealth" or "giver of wealth"

Pluto - Hades

He kills Pluto and then his house or "wealth" is engulfed in flames

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~"He had the eye of a vulture"

~"It was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye"

~"His eye would trouble me no more."

Eye of providence, all-seeing eye, seeking knowledge to be a higher power, being scared of God and being seen by him

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~"His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness"

fear of darkness and the unknown, being able to sense the thickness of the room, evil, mystery, and being afraid

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~ "I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart."

Feelings are said to be a weakness and a flaw

In this story, the main character feels bad on the outside however, in his heart he does not feel any resentment to his victim

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~"The thousand injuries of Fortunato"

~"I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry when I discovered that the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off."

~In a typical Mason fashion, Montresor makes a big sacrifice resulting in his loss of innocence in exchange for gnosis. Montresor kills good luck/ fortune in exchange for gnosis.

~As he takes the life of fortunato he is initiated into the Free Masonry community

~enlightened from darkness to light

~fragility of life

~transition from mortality to immortality

~dangerous knowledge/ dangers of playing God

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~"I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings."

The main character hid his victim's dismembered body under the floorboards in his home, nowhere the human eye could see or sense, The floorboards are made of wood symbolizing salvation, the victim ultimately seeks justice at the end of the story signifying his redemption/ salvation

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~"Almighty God!—no, no! They heard!—they suspected!—they knew!"

God is mentioned throughout the poem signifying fear but also respect, Guilt takes over the main character when police enter his home

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~ " Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones"

~ " We had passed through walls of piled bones"

~ "From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size."

~Bones represent mortality and remind of the fragility of life

~restoration of life after death, resurrection from the grave

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~"There entered three men"

Three-Father, Son, Holy Spirt

Three- Three wise men

Three- Curiosity

Three men entering the Main Characters homes symbolizes the unearthing of the truth

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~"Madmen know nothing."

~"Would a madman have been so wise as this?"

Madmen signifying crazy people, loon animals, full moon "Luna" "Lunatic turning rabid when a full moon is out, people do not necessarily know they are mad or want to admit it

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~" We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors."

~ " into the inmost recesses of catacombs."

~ " I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied."

~ Underground garden of death

~Paris catacombs are filled with free Mason symbols

~The catacombs are symbolic of a mason's journey through the different degrees of masonry

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~""It is this," I answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaire."

~"I had finished a portion of the last and the eleventh; there remained but a single stone to be fitted and plastered in."

~ "a mask of black silk"

~He wears a dark, silken cloak that shrouds himself

~He enshrouds a mason in masonry

~Whether his black mask is a plague mask, or just a mask, the secrecy in concealing his identity hints at masonry

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~ ""It is this," I answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaire."

~ "With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche. "

~ "When at last the clanking subsided, I resumed the trowel,"

~Is meant to symbolize unity and brotherly love, but in this case is used to kill one of the Masons

~Raises the question of Montresor being a Mason or an anit-Mason

~importance of building a strong foundation of character and harmony

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~"I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry"

~"You? Impossible! A mason?"

"A mason," I replied."

When Masonry is mentioned it nods to the creation of new things by using old things. Gaining knowledge is power and by being a mason you are able to attain that power you are seeking

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~"He had a weak point—this Fortunato—although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine."

~"but in the matter of old wines he was sincere."

~"We shall have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo—he! he! he!—over our wine—he! he! he!""

~Wine in freemasonry represents simple/ cheap pleasures of life

~symbolic of refreshment

~used in freemasonic rituals

~the servants who built Solomon's temple were payed with corn, oil, and wine

~wine can also represent sacrifice, wealth, and god's blessing

~because Poe uses alcohol differently than the Masons view it, it argues his stance against freemasonry!!

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~" I had finished a portion of the last and the eleventh"

~THERE ARE 11 DEGREES IN MASONIC INITIATION

~master number symbolic of enlightenment

~11 faithful apostles

~spiritual growth

~is he mocking their initiation by killing a dude in his story with 11 layers of masonry?

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~"He turned towards me, and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication"

~ "The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled"

~ " His eyes flashed with a fierce light"

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~The gnosis sought by Masons is dangerous

~Dangers of playing God

~He is anti-masonic

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Walls/ Masonry/ Construction/ Hiding Bodies within buildings

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Walls/ Masonry/ Construction/ Hiding Bodies within buildings

# data[].attributes.body
~"I approached and saw, as if graven in bas relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat. The impression was given with an accuracy truly marvellous. There was a rope about the animal’s neck."

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~"Moreover, in one of the walls was a projection, caused by a false chimney, or fireplace, that had been filled up, and made to resemble the red of the cellar."

~False chimney jabs at freemasonry: argues that freemasonry has a false front with secrets behind